LOCH LEVEN 85 



trout ; ' he sees a good deal of good company, and, 

 if his basket be heavy, who so content as he ? The 

 first thing is to row out to a good bay, and which 

 will prove a good bay depends on the strength 

 and direction of the wind. Perhaps the best 

 fishing is farthest off, at the end of a long row, but 

 the best scenery is not so distant. A good deal 

 hangs on an early start when there are many 

 boats out. 



Loch Leven is a rather shallow loch, seldom 

 much over fifteen feet deep, save where a long 

 narrow rent or geological flaw runs through the 

 bottom. The water is of a queer glaucous green, 

 olive-coloured, or rather like the tint made when 

 you wash out a box of water-colour paints. This 

 is not so pretty as the black wave of Loch Awe 

 or Loch Shin, but has a redeeming quality in the 

 richness of the feeding for trout. These are fabled 

 to average about a pound, but are probably a trifle 

 under that weight, on the whole. They are 

 famous, and, according to Sir Walter Scott, were 

 famous as long ago as in Queen Mary's time, for 



1 Too true, alas ! 



